Among God’s promises to the righteous
Shaykh Abd al-Hamid Ibn Badis, may God have mercy on him
“We have written in the Scriptures, after the Record, that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth” (al-Anbiya’ 21:105).
Context
After the surah recounts the prophets, peace be upon them, and their communities, ending that discussion with the Hour, its nearness, its precursors and people’s condition on the Day of Resurrection, this verse mentions the community that followed all those communities: the community of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
Explanation of its application
This verse concerns Muhammad’s community because, after discussing past communities, only it remained to be discussed. It was addressed with what God had decreed and recorded concerning the righteous inheriting the earth. Those addressed by this Meccan verse were believers in God who affirmed His oneness and followed His Messenger Muhammad, who confirmed all the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them. They were the Prophet’s Companions, the righteous then present on earth. The verse informed them of what God had written for them and promised that they would inherit the earth.
Vocabulary
“Al-zabur” means that which is written. It refers generally to the revelation God sent to His messengers and commanded to be written. Hamzah recited “al-zubur,” the plural of zibr, meaning a book. This reading identifies the meaning of al-zabur in the first reading as the revealed books, not specifically David’s Psalms, peace be upon him.
“The Record” means here the Preserved Tablet, in which God wrote everything before creating creation. Its designation as “the Record” occurs in al-Bukhari’s narration, in several places in his Sahih, from Imran ibn Husayn, may God be pleased with him: the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “God existed and nothing other than Him existed. His Throne was over the water. He wrote everything in the Record and created the heavens and the earth.”
What He wrote in the Record includes what He revealed to His messengers, as He says: “Rather, it is a glorious Qur’an, in a Preserved Tablet” (al-Buruj 85:21–22).
“The earth” means the earthly world in general. This is what the word denotes, and its unqualified use refers to it. Ibn Abbas interpreted it this way through the transmission of Ali ibn Abi Talhah, the soundest of his transmission routes.
“Shall inherit it” means it passes to them from others’ possession. Inheritance originally means transfer from a predecessor to a successor, although elsewhere it may figuratively mean simply granting possession.
“The righteous”: a sound thing is one whose order is upright and whose benefit is consequently realised. Its opposite is the corrupt thing, whose order is disrupted and whose benefit is lost. This appears from examining usage.
When people say a machine is sound, they mean it produces its intended benefit because its parts are properly arranged. When they say it is defective, they mean it fails to produce that benefit because of a fault in its construction.
In the language of Islamic law, the Qur’an and Sunnah, the word does not depart from this meaning wherever it occurs.
The righteous person is therefore one whose heart is illuminated by faith and true beliefs, whose soul is purified by virtue and good character, whose deeds are upright and whose speech is good, becoming a source of good and benefit for themselves and others.
Their order is sound in belief, character, speech and action, so their benefit becomes great and pure. This is the meaning of “the righteous” wherever it occurs, as in “the martyrs and the righteous” (al-Nisa’ 4:69), and in the testimony recited in prayer: “Peace be upon us and upon God’s righteous servants.” The Qur’an explains fully and sufficiently who the righteous are by describing their qualities. For example: “Among the People of the Book is an upright community, reciting God’s verses during the night while prostrating. They believe in God and the Last Day, enjoin right and forbid wrong, and hasten to good deeds. Those are among the righteous” (Al ‘Imran 3:113–114).
Meaning
God tells us that He wrote in the books revealed to His messengers, after writing in the Preserved Tablet that is their origin, that His righteous servants shall inherit and possess the earth: those with sound beliefs, noble character and upright deeds, who benefit people and lands.
Application
God addressed this verse to the believers in Makkah when they were few in number and resources, indirectly promising that they would inherit the earth and possess strength and influence within it. By linking the promise to righteousness, He encouraged them to adhere to it, increase in it and persist in it. Later, in the Medinan Surat al-Nur, He made the promise explicit: “God has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors on earth as He made those before them successors, establish for them the religion He has approved for them, and replace their fear with security. They worship Me, associating nothing with Me. Whoever disbelieves after that, those are the defiantly disobedient” (al-Nur 24:55).
God fulfilled this promise: He granted them conquests, made them inherit the dominions of Chosroes and Caesar, and extended their rule in East and West. The very people who were few and afraid when the Meccan verse was revealed witnessed that victory and those conquests and presided over that vast dominion.
Generality and limitation
The promise is linked to a quality, righteousness, so that it is known to be general and every righteous community knows it will inevitably receive its share. Linking it to this quality also restricts it to those who possess it. When a community loses righteousness, what it inherited passes from its hands. A parallel limitation appears in the verse from al-Nur: “They worship Me, associating nothing with Me. Whoever disbelieves after that, those are the defiantly disobedient” (24:55).
Parallel evidence
Authentic hadiths resemble this verse in promising what strengthens hearts, confirms faith and demonstrates the Prophet’s truthfulness through unseen knowledge God gave him. For example, when the Companions had suffered severely at the hands of polytheists, Khabbab, may God be pleased with him, asked the Prophet to supplicate. He replied: “Among those before you, a person’s flesh or sinews beneath the bones were combed with iron combs, yet this did not turn them from their religion. A saw was placed on the crown of their head and they were split in two, yet this did not turn them from their religion. God will surely complete this affair until a rider travels from Sana‘a to Hadramawt fearing none but God.” Al-Bukhari.
He told Adi ibn Hatim: “If you live long enough, you will see a woman traveller journey from al-Hirah until she circumambulates the Ka‘bah, fearing none but God. If you live long enough, the treasures of Chosroes will be opened.” Al-Bukhari. He lived to see this. Other authentic hadiths resemble these. Verses and hadiths thus agree in this promise, and God fulfilled His promise to His righteous servants and confirmed His Prophet concerning something no one knew or could see any cause for, seeing only what appeared contrary to it. But the final outcome belongs to the God-fearing.
A difficulty and its solution
Some say: The righteous and others alike gain control of this world’s earth. The only land inherited exclusively by the righteous is Paradise, so the verse must be interpreted as referring to it.
The answer: This interpretation would be necessary if the verse said, “None but My righteous servants shall inherit the earth,” restricting inheritance to them. But it contains no such restriction, so there is no need for that interpretation. Rather, the word “inheritance” and its connection to righteousness indicate that it belonged to others, then passed to them, and will pass away when righteousness disappears. God makes clear that the righteous and others inherit the earth: “The earth belongs to God. He causes whom He wills of His servants to inherit it, and the final outcome belongs to the God-fearing” (al-A‘raf 7:128). The righteous inherit it as a blessing, others as a trial and punishment, all according to the will of the Wise, the All-Aware.
An objection and its answer
It may be asked: What, then, is the benefit of specifically mentioning the righteous in this verse?
The answer:
1. The first people addressed were the Companions in Makkah, the righteous on earth, so that they would know God’s promise to them and know that falsehood’s strength would become weakness and truth’s weakness become strength.
2. The righteous, wherever they are, are generally few, especially at the beginning. They need to know this promise to increase in faith, strength and steadfastness.
3. People are fascinated by great numbers and resources, neglecting spiritual and moral strength and the uprightness arising from them. They give these no weight. They therefore need to know that the righteous will receive their share of this promise even when few: “How many a small group has overcome a large group by God’s permission. God is with the patient” (al-Baqarah 2:249).
A warning against distortion
Some see Western civilisation dominating the earth today, a civilisation materialist in its method, purpose and results, placing power above truth, justice, mercy and goodness. They say its people are the righteous whom God promised would inherit the earth, claiming that “the righteous” in the verse means those fit to develop the earth.
God help the Qur’an and humanity against this absurd distortion! As though developing the earth were everything, even if beliefs go astray, morals become corrupt, deeds crooked and circumstances bad; even if humanity suffers suffocating crises, is terrified by sweeping destructive conflicts and wars, and threatened by a greatest war that would destroy humanity at its roots and civilisation at its foundations.
These are humanity’s calamities, complained of by the children of this material civilisation that developed the earth and corrupted the human being. Yet this distorter wishes to apply to it a verse of the Qur’an, the Book of truth, justice, mercy, goodness and reforming humanity so that civilisation may be sound.
“The righteous” is a Qur’anic term explained by the Qur’an, as shown above. God honours those bearing it by attributing them to Himself in “My servants.” Interpreting it as those fit to develop the earth is among the ugliest and most invalid distortions of words from their proper meanings. Believers must beware of it and similar distortions by proponents of falsehood and those led astray.
Admonition and guidance
Communities wishing to receive their share of this promise must reform themselves with the righteousness explained by the Qur’an. If they have no share of that righteousness, they have no share of the promise, even if they profess Islam. God has effective patterns, according to His wisdom and will, concerning possession of the earth and nations’ leadership. He gives dominion to whom He wills and removes it from whom He wills, honours whom He wills and humbles whom He wills. Whoever follows any of these patterns reaches through them what is decreed of honour or humiliation, happiness or misery, hardship or ease. Every attempt to divert them from their outcome while continuing to follow them is doomed to fail.
It is God’s established way. Who can replace or alter it? “You will find no change in God’s established way” (al-Ahzab 33:62; al-Fath 48:23), and “You will find no alteration in God’s established way” (Fatir 35:43). Then: “Every community has a term. When their term comes, they can neither delay it an hour nor advance it” (Yunus 10:49).
Source:
Al-Shihab magazine, volume 6, article 11, pp. 339–345, Jumada al-Thani 1354 AH, September 1935.
See: Majalis al-Tadhkir min Kalam al-Hakim al-Khabir, by Abd al-Hamid Muhammad ibn Badis al-Sanhaji (d. 1359 AH), annotated with Qur’anic and hadith references by Ahmad Shams al-Din, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, first edition, 1416 AH/1995, pp. 345–350.
Athar Ibn Badis, edited by Ammar Talibi, Dar wa-Maktabat al-Sharikah al-Jaza’iriyyah, first edition, 1388 AH/1968, 1/350–357.